News

Truck Washing System to Protect Denmark from African Swine Fever

22 October 2013

DENMARK - The Danish pig industry is operating a strict security screening to ensure that African Swine Fever is not carried into the country from Russia, writes Chris Harris.

With more than 10 million pigs being exported from Denmark annually and many of the exports going to Russia, Poland and Ukraine, the Danish pig industry is concerned that ASF could be brought back into the country on lorries.

The Danish authorities have now established centres to wash the lorries down as they re-enter Denmark following an export run.

Speaking during the Danish pig industry conference in Herning this week, the annual meeting of the Danish Pig Research Centre, Bent Nielsen, head of the SPF Health Control and Pig Diagnostic Lab of the Danish Pig Research Centre said that the Danish industry is monitoring the progress of ASF in Russia week by week.

“We know where it is and where the new cases are,” he told TheMeatSite.

“We have trucks driving in high risk areas and we are very keen on washing those trucks.”

When the truck return, the Danish Pig Research Centre washes and disinfects them in the Danish Safety Wash programme.

“We manage to wash 99.9 per cent of the trucks that go through the borders and we have GPS data tracking to track the trucks to see where they have been and whether they have been to an area of risk.”

Mr Nielsen said that the pig sector in Denmark is concerned that the authorities in Russia do not have full control of the disease, but by monitoring the movement of the lorries and using the safety wash programme the industry can ensure ASF does not cross the borders and it also helps to protect the country against other potential disease outbreaks.